


Moving On

by JasonMorganfan87



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Case Fic, Character Bashing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team Leader Timothy McGee
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2018-10-30 02:19:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10866984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasonMorganfan87/pseuds/JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Gibbs never came back after 'Hiatus' and Tony left soon after him. Five years later sees Tim at the helm of the MCRT. What happens when a case brings his former team back together. How will they react to their probie turning leader and how will Tim react to their reappearance in his life?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jenny didn't die or become sick in this story.

Anthony DiNozzo walked into Director Shepard's office about a month after Gibbs had left the team. "Director, I need a word."

"Of course, Agent DiNozzo. Shut the door and come have a seat," Jenny said.

Tony walked further inside and closed the door. He walked over to the desk and sat in front of it. "Look, Director, I've tried, but I can't do this. I want you to transfer me."

Jenny was frankly shocked. She didn't understand this at all and she didn't see it coming. Tony seemed happy as team leader and his team seemed to respect him as their boss. They all seemed to miss Gibbs, but they were willing to work under Tony. Why would he want to leave? "You have to explain this to me because I can't for the life of me understand why you'd want to leave your team. You were just promoted to Team Leader. That's a dream job."

"Not mine, not with this team anyway. Not with Gibbs' team," Tony said. He had thought a few times about the future and being Team Leader, but he always thought that when that happened, he would leave and be Team Leader elsewhere. He never thought it would be with the same team he had now and because Gibbs retired.

Jenny sighed, realizing what the problem was. It was sitting at Gibbs' desk everyday and knowing he wasn't coming back, picturing him there when he walked in, but realizing he was gone. She was reluctant to see him leave over the pain though. "Maybe you should take some time off. I can take your team off rotation for a couple of weeks."

"I appreciate that, Director, but no. It won't change anything. Look, I don't begrudge Gibbs leaving. Well, okay, maybe I do a little, but I understand why he left and I respect it. I just don't think I can be him and I don't want to try to be. That's what I've been doing for the last month and it's just not right. I need to move on," Tony said in a firm voice.

Jenny could tell by his tone that she wasn't going to change his mind. He'd thought it through and decided he couldn't stay. "You understand that I can't guarantee you another Team Leader position, right? I can look and find you a new position that meets your qualifications, but I may not be able to get you a leadership position."

"I understand, Director. I'm not being picky," Tony said

"Alright, give me a couple of days to figure out where to send you," Jenny said.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Tony said before standing up and heading for the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Later that day, Jenny was walking out of MTAC when she ran into Timothy McGee. "Agent McGee, good you saved me a trip. I was going to come find you. Would you walk with me to my office?"

"Of course, Ma'am," Tim said quietly. Honestly, it was the last thing he wanted to do. Tony had just informed him and Ziva that he was transferring out of Washington and he wanted to be alone.

Jenny led the way down to her office. They walked past Cynthia and into the office. "Have a seat,"

Tim closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair in front of the director's desk while she sat behind her desk.

"From the scuttlebut I've heard in the last hour, I know that Agent DiNozzo has spread word of his decision to transfer.

"Yes, Ma'am," Tim said through gritted teeth. He couldn't help but be anger at Tony for doing this. They had all just started to get over Gibbs walking away. Things started to get to a new normal. Now Tony was leaving. He was angry and hurt by both these men taking off like this, not to mention he felt like he was in the middle of a twisted game of musical chairs, only with people.

"That leaves a position open for Team Leader. You will now be the most senior agent on the team, but I can't give you the position," Jenny said.

"I understand, Director," Tim said. He did. He'd only been an agent for four years, a field agent for three, and he knew he wasn't thought of as much of an agent by most.

"Not yet anyway," Jenny continued.

Tim frowned in confusion. "Okay, now I don't understand."

Jenny leaned forward in her chair. "At first, I was going to just have Tony replaced and have you remain Senior Field Agent in definitely. But that wouldn't be fair. You are the senior agent on the team and you deserve to move up just like Tony did." Also, she saw a great deal of potential in McGee. He reminded her a lot of herself. And he wouldn't see it right now and neither would they, but Tony and Gibbs leaving was best for him. He wouldn't have reached his potential with them around. She doubted they did it on purpose, but they held him back by misjudging his potential. She'd never said anything, but she noticed how often Gibbs kept the young man behind in favor of sending Tony and Ziva out in the field.

"I still don't understand. You said you couldn't give me the position," Tim reminded him.

"I can't. you'd be completely unprepared at this point and I in no way want to see you fail. Here is my plan. I"m going to transfer another supervisory agent here for a two year period. He will come in with the knowledge that it is a two year assignment and that he will handing the reigns over to you once he's done," Jenny said.

Tim looked at her in shock. "So in two years, It'll be my team?"

Jenny nodded. "I'm confident that you can learn from this man in that time. One thing though. I need a promise you won't pull what Tony has. I won't do this just for you to leave."

"I swear, Director. I have no intention of leaving," Tim said.

"So we have a deal then," Jenny said before extending her and to him.

Tim shook her hand in a daze. He couldn't believe this was happening. In a couple of years, he'd have his own team. Of course, it didn't take away the pain and anger he felt from Gibbs and now Tony taking off, but it was something to look forward to. "Thank you."

Jenny smiled in return. "You're dismissed."

Tim nodded and quickly left.


	2. Chapter 2

Five Years Later

Tim walked off the elevator into the bullpen. It had been three years since he'd taken over the MCRT. It was still hard to believe sometimes that he'd made it to this place. When he started with Gibbs, he was a stuttering, green as can be, probie. Now what was Gibbs', and then briefly Tony's, was now his.

It had been difficult when he first took over. He was so afraid he'd fail. He'd reached and exceeded his dream and that was in some ways more scary than not reaching it at all. He was afraid he would screw up monumentally and get fired, or worse, harm a member of his team. But he didn't. He believed he did well, and obviously the director did to or she wouldn't have let him reign for the last three years.

"Good morning, Tim," Ziva said, unknowingly breaking her boss' thoughts on the past.

"Morning, Ziva," Tim said with a smile. Clearly, Ziva had stuck with him after the others left. They'd gotten to be very close friends. They'd both felt abandoned when Tony left, feeling the loss of two members of their team within a short period of each other. Abby, Ducky, and, Palmer had stuck close as well, but it was harder for him and Ziva because they had to virtually start from scratch, getting to know and trusting new people to have their backs.

"Morning, Boss," a man with dark shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, who looked to be in his mid thirties said.

"Brooks," Tim said with a smile. Connor Brooks had been with the team since about a month after Tony left. Tim picked him himself on the orders of the Acting Team Leader that trained him, Brian Logan. Logan had told him that he was the one that was going to have to live with this agent when he finally left, so it should be his choice. Logan had been a good man. He'd really gotten Tim ready to take control of the team.

Tim looked towards the desk of his last teammate, Jason Ralph. He was a bit concerned. Ralph was probably the most reliable agent he had punctuality wise. He was never late. Like Tim, Ralph preferred to be an hour early than ten minutes late.

Ziva noticed her boss' concerned look. "He called a few minutes ago. He had car trouble."

Tim nodded and began to settle down at his desk. He'd just powered up his computer when his phone started ringing. He immediately answered. "McGee. Yeah, no problem," he said before hanging up. "Let's go. Dead marine."

"I shall call Ducky," Ziva said as she grabbed her gear and stood up.

Tim grabbed his own bad and led the way to the elevator. As he did he ran into his remaining agent.

"Boss, I'm so sorry I'm late," Ralph, a man in his late twenties to early thirties, with reddish blonde hair and blue eyes said frantic.

"Ralph relax, you're barely late. I just got here myself. However, you're headed right back for the elevator. We have a case."

"Right," the man said before turning around and heading back to the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later, Tim and his team were at the crime scene, a wooded area just behind the victim's home. Tim approached Ziva. "What do you have?"

"His name is Lieutenant Christopher Talen. He was found by his wife," Ziva said sadly. No one should ever have to find their husband like that.

"Have you talked to her?" Tim asked.

"No, not yet," Ziva said.

"Okay, I'll do it once I speak to Ducky. Start helping Connor with bagging and tagging," Tim said.

Ziva nodded and went to do as she was told.

Tim walked over to where Ducky was with the body. "Can you tell me anything yet, Ducky."

"Not much, but I believe I can say that our victim was killed sometime late last night. I will of course no more when I get him back to Autopsy," Ducky said, never taking his eyes off the body.

Tim frowned slightly. Ducky seemed to be studying the body, more so than he normally would. It was like he was looking for something. "What's going on, Ducky.

Ducky finally looked at the young team leader. "I apologize, Timothy. When I heard the Lieutenant's name, I got a sense of Deja vu."

"You know him?" Tim asked as he bent down.

Ducky shook his head after a moment. "I'm sure not. It's probably just a similar name. Anyway, back to this poor man's murder, it looks as though he was stabbed several times. There is a lot of blood. There are some cuts on his arms as well, consistent with defensive wounds. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything else at this time."

"Okay, thanks, Ducky," Tim said before walking away. He walked back towards the house. When he got there, a woman with shoulder length brown hair with puffy eyes was waiting on the porch. "Hi. I'm Special Agent McGee. I'm very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Talen."

"Thank you. He didn't deserve this," Mrs. Talen said in a cracked voice.

"Would you be able to answer a few questions?" Tim asked as gently as he could.

"Yes, of course. I'll do anything I can to help you catch this monster," she said as she wiped her eyes.

"Was your husband having problems with anyone?" Tim asked.

"Only with me," she said sadness and bitterness in her voice.

"Mrs. Talen, I don't want to pry, but…"

"But our problems make me a suspect. We were having problems, but I loved my husband," she said with irritation in her voice.

"Ma'am, I can understand that you're upset, but I need to know so I can eliminate you," Tim said gently, but with a touch of firmness.

"Fine. Chris was acting weird lately. He'd take phone calls at all hours. I'd hear him screaming sometimes on the phone. He'd also take off at times without telling me. I thought he was cheating on me. We fought even last night over it. He wouldn't tell me what was going on, so I walked out. I wish I hadn't now," Mrs. Talen said.

"I have to ask. Where did you go when you left?" Tim asked.

"I went to my parents'. I can get you their number," she said.

"I'd appreciate that, thank you," Tim said.

She nodded and went inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Ducky and Palmer were in Autopsy working on the body. "I must tell you Lieutenant, I am bugged. Not by you personally, of course, but I have this nagging feeling about you. Your name is so familiar."

"You think you knew him, Doctor?" Palmer asked.

"No, I don't think so. His face isn't familiar, just his name. Talen. It jogs a memory, but I can't put my finger on it," Ducky said. It was really starting to bother him. He doubted it was anything that pertained to the case, but it bothered him that he couldn't figure it out.

"Well, I'm sure you've met a lot of people," Palmer said.

"Yes, you're correct, Mr. Palmer. It is just nagging," Ducky said.

"What is?" Tim asked as he entered the room.

Ducky turned to him. "Oh, hello, Timothy. I was just thinking on the familiarity of our marine's name again. It is beginning to bug me."

"Any chance it could be case related?" Tim asked. Ducky's deja vu was starting to nag at him to. He wondered if Ducky really did know this man, and if so, if it mattered to the investigation.

"Probably not. As Mr. Palmer was just saying, I've met a lot of people. Just on this table alone, I've met a lot of people. Anyway, I've managed to narrow down cause of death. It was around eleven to twelve last night. Cause of death was of course the stab wounds. Our victim was stabbed five times and then left to bleed out. However it was knew what they were doing. The first couple of wounds were in non-lethal places. They wanted him to die slowly." Ducky explained

Tim nodded. "Anything else?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Okay. Do me a favor? If you remember what's so familiar about him, let me know," Tim said.

"Of course. I expect it will be insignificant though," Ducky said.

Tim nodded and headed for the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Tim made his way through the bullpen. "What do we know?"

"Just got the bank statements, Boss. He's clean. Nothing out of the ordinary," Brooks said.

"I have something. I checked his phone records. Lieutenant Talen has taken several calls from an unknown number. He has also been speaking with a woman named Jane Richards. If his wife was right about an affair, she may be it."

"You and Ralph go speak to her," Tim instructed.

Ziva nodded and the two of them got up and left.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ziva knocked on the door of Jane Richards' home. The door was opened a second later by a woman with short blond hair and brown eyes.

"Hello, can I help you?" the woman asked.

Ziva pulled out her badge. "Special Agent David, this is Special Agent Ralph. We are from NCIS."

"I haven't heard from you people in years. Have you finally gotten off your asses and found Sam's killer?" she asked bitterly.

"I do not understand," Ziva said with a frown.

"Ma'am, we're here about Lieutenant Christopher Talan," Ralph said.

Mrs. Richard's face turned to concern. "Chris? What happened to him?"

"I'm afraid he was killed last night," Ralph said.

"Oh my God. That bastard got him now too," Mrs. Richards said in a cracked voice.

"What do you mean? Do you know who killed Lieutenant Talen?" Ziva asked.

"You don't know. Well, I guess that's proof that their case was forgotten about. I guess they were just three more dead bodies to you. And Chris will soon become just another one," she said.

"Please, Mrs. Richards, what do you mean?" Ziva asked.

"Eleven years ago, my husband and two others were murdered. NCIS investigated and never found their killer. Now he's killed Chris too."

"How do you know that?" Ralph asked.

"Because one of the victims was Chris' brother Jake and Chris told me recently that there might be a lead. Now he's dead. It's obvious what happened. Chris was killed because he found out what happened to them," she explained.

"Did he tell you what he knew?" Ralph asked.

"No, he wouldn't. He said he didn't want me involved."

"Mrs. Richards, I promise, we will look into what happened," Ziva said.

"Sure," she said unconvincingly before going back inside.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Everyone was back in the bullpen an hour later. Ziva had just explained their visit with Mrs. Richards. "She believes the cases are linked."

"She says it was an NCIS case?" Tim asked.

"Yes, from eleven years ago," Ziva said.

"I'm gonna see if I can pull the file up now," Ralph said.

Tim picked up his phone and pressed a button. "Ducky, I need you upstairs. Okay, thanks."

"You think Ducky may remember the case?" Ziva asked.

"He already does. Ducky felt something familiar about Christopher Talen. Obviously it was his brother Ducky remembered.

"I found the file. Jacob Talen, Samuel Richards, and Alexander Mickey were found murdered in a warehouse. All three were stabbed to death," Ralph said.

"Put it on the plasma. Military element?" Tim asked.

"Talen, he was a marine, like his brother," Ralph said before putting the file up on the plasma. "The case went cold quickly."

"Lead agent?" Tim asked.

"Special Agent Gibbs," he said.

Tim raised an eyebrow in surprise. Gibbs had let a case go cold? That was very unlike him. He never let a case go. Sometimes it took a lot of time, but he always got who he was looking for.

"That is surprising. Gibbs would not let that case go unless he had to," Ziva said.

"You wanted to see me, Timothy," Ducky stated as he walked towards the man.

Tim turned towards him. "Jacob Talen. He and two others were murdered eleven years ago. It was Gibbs' case. Do you remember?"

Ducky looked at the photos of the three men on the screen. "Yes, that must be why our Lieutenant was so familiar. I was remembering his brother. Yes, I remember the case. Jethro and Anthony worked hard to solve it, but there was very little evidence. Of course Jethro didn't want to let it go, but the director finally insisted. I think it was the only case he wasn't able to solve. It drove him mad, but eventually, he begrudgingly let it go."

Tim turned to his agents. "Go through the old case. See if you can find anything that was missed."

They all nodded and got to work.

Tim, meanwhile, headed up the stairs. He needed to brief the director. He could tell he wasn't going to like this conversation because he knew exactly how it would end.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny sat there stunned after hearing about the Talen case. "Wow. Gibbs actually let something go."

"It seems he didn't really have a choice," Tim said as he sat across from her.

"You realize what comes next, right?" Jenny asked.

Tim sighed. "Look, I agree that the case from eleven years ago and the Talen case now are linked, but I think my team can solve it."

"Is that belief at all based on personal grudges?" Jenny asked.

"Cold cases are solved all the time by new agents," Tim said, avoiding the question.

"I wouldn't say all the time, but, yes, sometimes, however, we have an active killer on the loose right now and the two people who worked this case might be able to shed some light. We could just call and ask for that insight, but…"

"But once Gibbs gets wind of the fact that the case he couldn't solved is once again active, he'll be on the next plane. Tony won't be far behind him," Tim finished for her.

"Right. McGee, I realize there is still bad blood with how these men left, but you're a professional agent. You know the case has to come before grudges. They won't be here long. They will leave again once the case is solved," Jenny said

"That's the problem, Director. You know that Team Gibbs was far from conventional. There was a lot of pain when he and Tony left the way they did. We don't need that revisited. But you're right, the case comes first," Tim said before getting up and leaving the room.

Jenny sighed and picked up the phone. She dialed a number and waited for an answer. "Jethro, it's Jenny. I need you to catch a plane.


	4. Chapter 4

Tim went back downstairs after leaving the director's office. His agents were all at their desks working. Ducky was gone, probably having gone back to Autopsy. "Ziva."

Ziva looked up from her desk in time to McGee walking towards the elevator. He beckoned her towards him when she saw him. She immediately got up and headed towards him.

Tim stopped when they reached the elevator. "You're not gonna like this."

Ziva sighed, having already figured out what her boss and friend would tell her. "They are coming back, aren't they?"

Tim nodded. "Yeah. The director wants their input on this case."

"I do not like it, but I already figured it would happen. Ducky and I were discussing it while you were upstairs," Ziva said. She really did not like this. She did not want them back. It took them a while to get past Gibbs and Tony walking away with barely a goodbye. They had moved on. She did not want them coming back and disrupting what they built, and they would. At the very least, they would try to take control of the team, a team they were no longer a part of, while they were there. "Must this really happen. Tell Jenny we can handle this without them."

"I did, it didn't work. Truthfully, she's probably right. Gibbs had rule thirty-eight for a reason," Tim said.

"We are not following rule thirty-eight, are we? Why do I even still remember Gibbs' rules?" Ziva asked. Rule thirty-eight was 'your case, your lead'. She did not want to give up their case to the two people who left their team.

"Absolutely not. They're not a part of this team, so that rule doesn't apply to them. We will work with them because it's what's best for the investigation, but this is our case. I'm not letting anyone usurp this investigation. And you still remember Gibbs' rules because they made us the agents we are. I may not agree with all of them, but most were useful," Tim said.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. After all, I will always adhere to rule nine," Ziva said with a smirk as she touched the knife attached to her belt.

"I know you don't want them here. I don't either. It took a lot for all of us to pick up the pieces after they left and I don't want to have to do that again," Tim said. It wasn't really that they left. That hurt a lot, but it was always going to happen. He wasn't naive enough to believe they'd be a team forever. Someone was always going to leave. It was the way they left. It was abrupt and pretty uncaring. Gibbs left with somewhat of a goodbye, but not much of one. He said a few things and then took off for Mexico. None of them talked to him again. Tony had basically just left after informing them that he was transferring. He didn't even give them an explanation, and again, there was no contact afterwards. Actually, Tim was more angry at Tony than Gibbs in some ways because Tony saw what Gibbs abrupt retirement did to the team. He felt it himself, yet he could still do it. Honestly, if Tony really wanted to leave, Tim could understand, but not in the cold way that he did. It was cowardly and cruel.

"We need to solve this case quickly," Ziva said. She wanted them gone as quickly as possible.

"Agreed," Tim said before hitting the elevator button. "Head back to your desk and go back to what you were doing. Let's get them in and out as fast as possible."

Ziva nodded and walked away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into Abby's lab with a Caf-Pow. He needed to tell Abby about Gibbs and Tony. It wasn't going to be a happy conversation. Abby had been really hurt when both men left, especially Gibbs. Out of everyone's relationships on the team, Abby and Gibbs had been the closest.

Tim saw Abby by the DNA computer. He went over to the stereo and shut the music off before even bothering to alert Abby to his presence.

Abby turned around as soon as silence filled her lab. "Hey, McGee."

"Hey, Abs," Tim said as he approached her.

"You brought me a Caf-Pow. You never bring me Caf-Pows. Well, okay, you do sometimes, like my birthday, but not like on a normal day, like Gibbs would because you run a tighter ship. Well, not like you're meaner than Gibbs because you're so not. You're much more patient than him and you listen more, but you don't pick favorites like he did with me. Well, actually, I think you do have favorites. I think Ziva, me, Ducky, and Jimmy are closer to you than the others. Which is expected because we've known you better. But you don't show that while we're working. You don't give preferential treatment like Gibbs did with me," Abby rambled.

"Abby," Tim said gently to try to bring the rambling to a halt.

"And that's great, McGee. You know I didn't like it at first, but not being favored so much has made me a better person, so it's good. But you're bringing me a Caf-Pow now and it's not a special occasion. Is someone hurt?" Abby asked.

"No, no one's hurt. I brought you a Caf-Pow because I have to tell you something that you won't like. Our latest case is connected to a cold one. You may not remember this, but Christopher Talen's brother Jacob was killed eleven years ago with two others. The case was Gibbs'. He and Tony worked it and were unable to find the killer. We believe the two cases are linked, that Lieutenant Talen's killer was the same guy that killed his brother and the other two," Tim explained.

"No," Abby said, having already figured out what he was trying to tell her.

"Abby…"

"Timmy, I totally respect you as the bossman, but I need you to get out of here so I can pretend this conversation didn't happen," Abby said before turning away from him.

Tim took a step towards her and gently grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn back to him. "Abby, I realize you are unhappy, so am I and so is Ziva, but you have to deal with it."

"They left! They don't get to just come back!" Abby said angrily. Five years ago, she would've given anything for Gibbs and Tony to return. She had been so hurt when both of them left. But they didn't come back. They didn't even keep in contact. They were supposed to be a family, at least they were in her eyes. They clearly weren't in Gibbs' and Tony's because family members didn't abandon each other.

"They won't be here long, just until the case is finished," Tim promised. He knew it wouldn't help though. Hell, he'd even told the director that it might make it worse. Tony and Gibbs coming back and leaving again could just cause them to relapse to five years ago.

Abby sighed. "They're going to come in here and try to pretend like nothing's changed. They're going to take charge of the investigation and…"

"Oh, no, they're not. I will not let them," Tim said firmly.

That made Abby smile a little. Oh, no, McGee would not let them. McGee was much different now. He had no problem telling someone where to go, even someone like Gibbs. She would pay money to see that confrontation, as well as Gibbs' face when he realized that McGee was the one to take his desk. "Things will go back to normal once the case is over? You promise that?"

"I'll do my best to make sure of it," Tim promised.

"I'm not following anyone's orders but yours," Abby said.

"No, you're not," Tim agreed with a smirk before handing her her Caf-Pow and heading back towards the elevator.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Ziva was sitting at her desk the next morning. She was making phone calls, trying to get in touch with people who knew the three men that were murdered eleven years ago. McGee wanted them reinterviewed. They would be speaking to Mrs. Richards again, as well as Jacob Talen's CO, though that would have to be done in MTAC since he was overseas.

"Ziva," Ralph called when she got off the phone.

"Yes, Jason," Ziva asked.

Ralph got up and approached her. "Look, I've noticed how you, the boss, and Abby have been really rattled by the impending arrival of these agents coming."

"Agent. Only one of them is an agent. The other is retired, and, we are not rattled. We are angry," Ziva corrected.

"This got to do with how things were when I first got here?" Brooks asked from his desk. He'd seen the pain and anger in his teammates when he first arrived. They didn't talk about it with him, but something hit them.

"It is complicated and personal. I am sorry, but we just do not like to dwell on it. I will just say that they were a part of our team and they left," Ziva said.

"I get it," Brooks said. He did understand. When you worked with someone for so long, especially in the field that they did where you had to rely on your partners to save your life at times, it created a deep bond. You couldn't just be colleagues. He knew he didn't consider those he worked with to just be colleagues. "Just so you know, we have your backs."

"Thank you, Connor. I should in turn warn you that things will be tense for the remainder of this case. Also, do not let Gibbs intimidate you because he will try," Ziva warned.

"You think he'll try to take over?" Ralph asked.

"Yes, that is a given. He will want control, especially since the original case was his," Ziva said.

"Well, screw that. It's our case," Brooks said.

Just then, Ziva heard the faint ding of the elevator. She turned in time to see Tony get off and send her a smile, which only increased her ire.

"That's not Gibbs, is it?" Ralph asked.

"No," Ziva answered.

"Ziva!" Tony exclaimed as he made his way over. "Good to see ya!"

"Tony," Ziva greeted curtly.

"How have you been? And where's the probie?" Tony asked as he looked around the area. He didn't see McGee anywhere and someone else was sitting at his desk. The director hadn't demoted him back to junior agent, had she?

"None of us are probies," Ralph spoke up.

Tony eyed him. "You're not my replacement, are you?"

"Wouldn't know. I don't know who you are," Ralph said.

Tony looked back at Ziva. "You didn't tell your new teammate about me?"

"No," she said simply.

Tony turned back to the man. "Anthony DiNozzo. I used to be in charge her, though it wasn't for long."

"Jason Ralph, and no, I wasn't your replacement," Ralph said before walking away from Ziva's desk and going to his own.

Tony looked at Ziva. "So McGee left?"

Ziva was getting angrier by the minute. Tony saw that the only desk for their team unoccupied right now was the team leader's and he deduced that Tim had moved on instead of considering that he may have earned his own promotion.

Just then, Gibbs got off the elevator and headed towards them.

"Boss! I mean, Gibbs. Good to see you!" Tony said.

"Yeah, you too, DiNozzo. Hey, Ziva," Gibbs said.

"Gibbs," Ziva greeted in the same tone she had Tony.

"Ziva, are you in like an incredibly bad mode?" Tony asked. He could hear the coldness and hostility in her voice, and that was when she actually spoke. She wasn't saying all that much.

"I have had better days. Anyway, you are here because there is a murderer out there and the case is connected to your old one," Ziva said.

"What do you mean that's why he's here. He's been here," Gibbs said.

"Um, actually, I haven't Gibbs. I transferred. I run a team in Rhode Island," Tony said uncomfortably. He wasn't sure how Gibbs would react to knowing he'd left the team after Gibbs had given him the reigns.

"You left? What the hell did you do that for DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked before smacking him upside the head.

Ziva had the urge to turn that question around on Gibbs. The only thing stopping her was that no part of her was inclined to defend Tony right now.

"I couldn't stay, and it's not just me. McGee's gone too," Tony defended.

"Good you're both here," Jenny said as she came down from her office.

"Hey, Jen," Gibbs said.

"Director," Tony greeted with a smile.

"Come to my office for a debriefing. Ziva, when he gets back, tell him to join us," Jenny said.

"Of course, Director," Ziva said.

The three of them immediately started walking up the stairs.

"I wish I could be a nat on the wall when they realize who has taken their place," Ziva said to herself once Gibbs and Tony were gone.

"You mean fly, right? You wish you could be a fly on the wall," Brooks corrected.

"The type of insect does not matter. I just wish I could be there."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Gibbs and Tony were seated at the table in the director's office. "So the Talen case was originally yours, that's why I asked you both to come back."

"We'll solve it, Jen," Gibbs assured her. There was no way in hell he was going to let it go cold again. He hated that it had the first time. He didn't want to let it go. Morrow had to threaten to fire him if he didn't put it away. It had been cold for months and Gibbs still wanted it done. The only other case he'd been that worked up over was Ari. There had been others he'd taken personally, but those two were the worst. The Talen case got to him because there were little to no leads. He'd never had a case like that before or after.

"Gibbs, you're here to help, but this is not your case. This case belongs to the current MCRT. Their team leader is in charge and you will either follow his lead or leave. Agent DiNozzo, you will follow him, period. You don't get the option of leaving," Jenny informed them both.

Gibbs just glared at her. There was no way in hell that was gonna happen. This was his case. He wasn't letting some guy that had his desk for a few years take over.

"Director, this was our case. We know everything about it. We worked it for months. Let us finish it," Tony said. They deserved to finish this case after how hard they worked eleven years ago. It certainly shouldn't go to some agent who knew nothing about it.

"Went cold with us. You think you're gonna get better results with someone else?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, we're a little arrogant, aren't we, Jethro? This agent has my complete confidence," Jenny said. McGee had exceeded her expectations. He'd used everything he'd learned from Gibbs and Agent Logan and reached his potential. He'd become an agent who was not going to let either of the men in front of her push him around when they tried. That was part of the reason she was keeping him as case lead. He would keep Gibbs and DiNozzo in line.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, causing Jenny to smile a bit. She was looking forward to this. Both these men would be shocked. She'd known Gibbs a long time and she'd never seen him shocked. "Come in."

Tim walked in a second later and closed the door. "Sorry I'm late, Director. I got held up in MTAC."

Jenny waved off the apology and motioned for him to sit down.

Gibbs and Tony looked at their probie in surprise. They both thought he'd left, just like Tony did, and neither of them understood why he was present for this meeting.

Tim took a seat at the far end of the table.

"You didn't miss anything important, McGee. I was just informing Gibbs and DiNozzo how their visit here will work," Jenny said.

"Hold on, why was McGee called back too. Don't get me wrong, Probie, It's good to see you, but this started before you became an agent," Tony said.

"What makes you think I needed to be brought back?" Tim asked.

"Well, you're not with the team anymore. Some other guy's at your desk. Why'd you transfer if you weren't leaving DC?" Tony wondered.

"Later. Let's get back to the case," Gibbs said.

"That works just fine for me. We found Jacob Talen's brother Christopher yesterday. So far no real leads, except that the Lieutenant seemed to believe he was close to finding his brother's killer. We think he was killed by the same guy. We've already started looking into the old case, but we could use your help with that, since it was your case," Tim said.

"Hold on, 'we'?" Tony asked confused.

"That's right, meaning my team," Tim said. Then he waited, knowing he was going to end up shocking both men.

"Y...Your team?" Tony asked before dropping his mouth wide open. The way he said that made it very clear that the team was his. He was in charge. That just didn't make sense to Tony. McGee was a good agent, but he wasn't the leading type. He simply didn't have the backbone to lead.

"You're in charge?" Gibbs asked, equally surprised. LIke Tony, he saw the same probie they'd had on their team five years ago. He was now a leader? He sat in Gibbs' desk. Nothing could surprise him more than that.

"Yes, to both your questions," Tim said.

"Special Agent McGee has head up the MCRT for three years. As such, the Talen case is his. Both of you will work under his watch, following his lead. Is that clear?" Jenny asked.

"You can't be serious," Tony said in shock. It was hard enough to believe that McGee was Team Leader, but he was also expected to take orders from his probie? "Look, man, no offense, but I trained you."

"That is immaterial, Agent DiNozzo. Agent McGee is in charge. Deal with it," Jenny said in an icy tone.

Gibbs wasn't saying much because it didn't matter. The case was his and he'd get McGee to hand over control. He was sure McGee was good at his position because he wouldn't have made it three years otherwise, but this was his case.

"Don't worry, Director. It will be fine. I can handle things from here," Tim told her. Oh, he held no delusions. He knew he would be fought, but he would also fight back. Gibbs and Tony would learn very soon that he was no longer the stuttering probie that could be pushed around.

"I know you can, Tim. You're all dismissed," Jenny said.

The three men got up and headed for the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Tim led the way from the director's office down towards the bullpen. He was also silently waiting. He knew it would be a matter of seconds before one of them spoke.

"McGee, stop. We need to talk," Gibbs said.

"No," was all Tim said as he kept walking.

"What?" Gibbs asked caught off guard. McGee had never told him no before. None of his people had. They knew better than to do it. And while McGee wasn't his anymore, he still thought the man would listen to him and give him the respect he deserved as being his boss for three years.

Tony, meanwhile, was looking at his former coworker like he'd just pointed a gun to his own head. Telling Gibbs no was crazy. You didn't tell Gibbs no unless you wanted him murder you. McGee had obviously lost his mind. Did he forget Gibbs was a sniper?

"I said no. We are not going to talk because I know what you want. The answer to that is no too," Tim said as he started down the stairs. He didn't even bother to make sure both men were still with him as he went.

Gibbs stood still for a minute, still dumbfounded by his former agents abrupt and cold reply. He quickly recovered though and followed.

"Listen up, guys. This is Special Agent DiNozzo and Former Special Agent Gibbs. They'll be working with us for the remainder of this case. Tony, Gibbs, Agents Brooks and Ralph," Tim said before pointing to a couple of empty desks just behind his team's area. "Empty desks are right there. Feel free to get settled in.

Tony went over to one of the empty desks, sat down and started getting settled. Gibbs stayed where he was, looking annoyed.

"Alright, let's go, anyone got anything new for me?" Tim asked.

"Not much, Boss. I spoke with a few of Lieutenant Talen's colleagues, hoping he might have confided in them about whatever leads he might have had on his brother's murder, but none of them seemed to know about it," Brooks said.

Tony just turned and stared at them from his desk when he heard Brooks call McGee 'Boss'. That was just really weird. McGee being in charge at all was still really weird and he didn't fully believe it until that agent called him 'Boss'. It felt like something had gone wrong with the universe.

"What about the previous murders?" Tim asked.

"I've looked through it several times, Boss. There was very little evidence from the beginning. No forensics, aside from the victim's blood and no viable suspects," Ralph said.

"McGee, I think we may be looking for a professional. I refuse to believe anyone is that good after one murder," Ziva said.

"Yeah, we had that same thought," Tony said as he joined them. We thought maybe he was a serial killer, but the murders didn't fit any pattern with any other cases at the time, not with the FBI or Metro, and all three men knew each other, so we assumed one or all of them were targeted. But we did think that whoever it was had killed before.

"I think perhaps we may be dealing with a hitman. Someone who does this for a living would be able to do something like this without leaving evidence," Ziva said.

"Hitmen usually use guns though," Tony said.

"Not always. I used knives sometimes," Ziva said with a smirk. She may not have been a hitman, but she was a killer, so she counted.

"Say we go with the hitman idea for a minute. Do we really think that whoever hired this guy to kill those men also hired him to kill Lieutenant Talen the other night. A good hitman would know not to even get in touch with this guy again," Ralph said.

"HItman could be the one that caught on to Talen. Could be this one was all his work. Gotta re-interview people," Gibbs said. He had considered the hitman idea years ago, but none of the people they suspected seemed to have that kind of cash. Now it was worth a shot though, since they had nowhere else to go.

"We already had that planned. We've got some people coming in today," Brooks said.

Tim turned to Gibbs and Tony. "Who was your best suspect at the time?

"Well, this idea brings my theory of the wife into play," Tony said.

"What theory?" Brooks asked.

Ziva rolled her eyes. "That it is always the wife."

"It is," Tony said with a smirk.

"The only one married was Samuel Richards. She will be in later," Ziva said.

"Alright, I want you all to go through the lists of people these men knew to narrow down the suspect list. Focus on those that all three men knew if possible, since we know they were friends," Tim instructed.

They all nodded and got to work.

Tim headed for the elevator a second later.

"Stay here," Gibbs said to Tony before following.

"Go away, Gibbs," Tim said as he pushed the elevator button. He didn't turn to look at him, but he knew he was there, something he was proud of after all those times Gibbs would sneak up on him.

"That's not gonna happen. We need to talk," Gibbs said.

"No, we don't. I still know what you want and the answer is still no. That's sounds like the end of the conversation to me," Tim said as the elevator opened. He immediately stepped inside.

Gibbs followed him and waited for the elevator to start. Then he hit the emergency switch.

"How many times do you need to hear the word 'no'?" Tim asked getting irritated.

"What the hell is your problem, McGee. Are you so arrogant after getting my desk that you have no respect for me?" Gibbs asked.

"I respect you, Gibbs. I respect that you helped me get here. If it weren't for you, there's a good chance that I might still be a case agent in Norfolk. You taught me to begin to come out of my shell. I'm grateful for that and I do respect you for it," Tim said. No matter how hurt and angry he was, he couldn't and wouldn't deny what the man had done for him. "This is not about lack of respect. This is about the fact that I didn't fall in line like you expected. I know exactly what you were thinking when you realized I had the lead, well, after you got over the shock that I could actually be a competent leader."

"Never said that, McGee," Gibbs interrupted.

Tim went on as though he never spoke. "You thought that it worked out perfectly for you because you could just bully me into handing my case over to you."

"It was my case, McGee!" Gibbs growled.

"Well, it's not anymore, just as this is not your team, and I'm not handing either over to you, even for a few days. So once again, I say, no. I am not going to meekly hand over what is mine to you, not even in response to that look you're giving me now. You play by my rules now. You can leave if that doesn't work for you," Tim said before reaching over and hitting the button to start the elevator up again.

Gibbs stared as he had just virtually been dismissed, trying hard not to let his disbelief show. If he didn't know any better, he would say that this wasn't even McGee because he was very different. The young man he knew years ago never would've spoken to him that way. He didn't know how it happened, but McGee changed, a lot. This man was not the stuttering, shaky man he'd first met. He'd made it clear he would not be pushed over, even by Gibbs.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony was sitting at his temporary desk looking through the old case notes. He was familiarizing himself with everyone they'd looked at eleven years ago, like McGee wanted. McGee. Man, that was never going to stop being weird. McGee was in charge now. He sat in Gibbs' chair. He called the shots. And Tony had to admit, he wasn't too bad at it. He'd been really effective in his orders. His people respected his authority. Hell, he'd gone toe to toe with Gibbs. Well, sort of. He'd refused to talk to him. He'd actually told him no. That was another thing he just couldn't get over. No one told Gibbs no. Well, the director did, but even she didn't do it often.

Tony looked towards the elevator, wondering how Gibbs' and McGee's second confrontation was going. Gibbs had followed McGee into the elevator twenty minutes ago and neither had come back. He wondered how it went. Gibbs was determined to take over this case, but McGee clearly wasn't going to give it up.

Tony turned back to his computer and made himself focus. He needed to get back to the case. He wanted this case closed just like Gibbs. He'd worked it really hard and was just as pissed when they had to let it go

"Hey, DiNozzo."

Tony turned towards Agent Brooks.

"You remember how these three guys were connected?" Brooks asked.

"Yeah, that was one of the first things we tried to determine. Jacob Talen and Samuel Richards met through Alexander Mickey. Mickey and Richards met in college and Talen and Mickey met through Talen's brother, our new dead marine," Tony explained.

"So Mickey's the common denominator. He knew all three men. Maybe he was the target," Brooks said.

"Yeah, we thought that, but he was a bartender and had no enemies . Talen was most likely, if there was only one target and the others just got caught in it," Tony said.

"Well, I found one link between all three men, well potentially," Ralph said.

"Who?" Ziva asked.

"Mickey's sister, Christina Mickey. If Mickey was linked to the other two, maybe his sister knew them too," Ralph said.

"I remember her. I only spoke to her on the phone She was out of state. She was devastated. She didn't really say much after I informed her of her brother's death. She got off the phone as quickly as she could. I thought it was because she was so upset," Tony said.

"We need to find her and have her brought in," Ziva said.

"I'm on it," Ralph said.

"I think we all need more coffee. DiNozzo, wanna come with me on a run?" Brooks asked.

"Yeah, sure. I should get a cup for Gibbs. It might put him in a better mood," Tony said. before getting up and following Brooks towards the elevator

Brooks got in and held the door for the other agent. Once he was in, Brooks let it close and hit the button for the first floor. Things were quiet for several moments before Brooks spoke. "You screw them over again, you're gonna have to deal with the whole team.

Tony looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act stupid, DiNozzo. You must realize they don't want you here," Brooks said.

"They're worried Gibbs will take control of the case," Tony said. That was what he told himself anyway. Somewhere though, he knew that wasn't the reason.

Brooks laughed. "You think they're worried about that? McGee has no problem asserting his authority. He's worried you're going to tear his people apart. He doesn't want you to hurt them."

"Hurt them? McGee can't think I'd hurt them," Tony said in disbelief. He felt a pain in his stomach just at the thought. McGee didn't really think that, did he. They worked together and a kind of brotherly relationship going. Yeah, he'd tease him, but McGee couldn't really think he'd hurt him or the others. They had been like a family to him.

"Maybe it's not an act, DiNozzo. Maybe you are stupid," Brooks said as the doors opened. He immediately walked out.

Tony immediately followed him towards the front doors. "What do you mean by that?"

Brooks waited until the were outside to speak again. "I"ve been here for nearly five

years. I was here when McGee was training to take his spot as Head."

"Wait, I thought he didn't take over until three years ago," Tony said.

"He didn't, but he was trained way before that. He was being groomed for the spot since before I started here. It was the plan for him to take over after two years of training," Brooks explained as he walked through the parking lot.

Tony took in the information. It seemed McGee knew almost right away that he would have the spot. He wondered if McGee knew before Tony left, and if he did, why didn't he say anything. Tony would think he'd scream it to the whole agency.

"Anyway, when I got here, they were a mess. McGee, Ziva, and Abby. Hell, even Ducky was kind of hurt, though it was harder to tell with him. They never mentioned you or Gibbs until the case came up. I know you're responsible for it. I don't know all of it, but I know you two left and broke them in the process," Brooks said with anger in his voice.

Tony felt a pang of guilt, but he pushed it away and let the anger of some stranger calling him out take over instead. "You know nothing, Brooks, and I am not explaining myself to you."

"Didn't ask you to. I don't care about your explanations. I brought it up so you know that I won't let you or Gibbs cause them more pain. My team matters to me. I won't let it get torn apart," Brooks said firmly.

They arrived at the car a moment later and got in. "W...was it really bad?" Tony asked after a moment.

"How bad would it be for you if they took off on you?" Brooks asked.

Tony didn't need to even ask himself that question. He knew because of Gibbs leaving. Yes. Yes, it was really bad.


	8. Chapter 8

Abby was sitting in her office thinking. She knew they were here by now and it was only a matter of time before she had to see them. Gibbs, she knew, would come down eventually to see her. He would try to act like nothing had happened and tell her he missed her. It would be a lie. If Gibbs missed her, he would've called her or come to see her. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since he quit and tried to give his job to Tony.

Tony was no better in Abby's eyes. He knew they were all suffering. They all missed Gibbs so much and were having a hard time dealing after he left. They needed to stick together and help each other mover on. But Tony left, and again, he never called or visited. He proved he was just like Gibbs. That used to be something she would've been proud of, but now it was just a disappointment.

Abby soon heard her music being shut off in the lab. She immediately started to prepare herself in case it was Gibbs. She was determined to show Gibbs that things had changed. He couldn't just come back and expect her to run to him. She was not going to forgive him.

Gibbs soon appeared in the doorway with a Caf-Pow. "Hey, Abbs."

"Hello, Gibbs," Abby said before looking at her desk, pretending there was something there that needed her attention. The best way for her to make Gibbs see that she was no longer the devoted young girl that needed his attention was to treat him like he was unimportant.

Gibbs frowned. He expected a much more welcome reaction from Abby. He was prepared to find her in his arms within seconds. Instead, all he got was a rather cold hello, like he'd gotten from Ziva. Ziva, he understood. He assumed it was loyalty to McGee. She'd been working with for him for three years and most likely felt he deserved to keep the lead on this case. Abby, he didn't understand. What was up with her. "I brought you a Caf-Pow, Abs."

Abby pointed to the Caf-Pow on her desk. "I already have one.

"Well, one for later then," Gibbs said as he walked forward. He put the drink on the desk next to her other one. "You okay, Abby."

"I'm fine," Abby said. she wasn't. She was really angry. Gibbs seemed confused that he was upset. Was he that stupid? Gibbs used to know things before anyone had the chance to voice them. She would joke that he had ESP. Yet he was so dense that he couldn't understand that she was angry at him for walking out of her life. It made her want to scream, but she wouldn't. Screaming meant admitting that she was hurt. She was hurt and she hated that she was hurt, but she didn't want him to know that. "I have to get back to work. Thanks for the Caf-Pow."

Gibbs couldn't help but feel a pain go through his body at Abby's cold and impersonal voice. What was it with his people? Well, his former people. It was like he was nothing to them. The years he taught them and helped them were meaningless. "Alright, I'll leave you alone."

Abby waited until she was sure he was gone before breaking down. Gibbs walking back into her life brought back all the pain of him walking out and now it was like she was back in that moment.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs went to see Ducky next. He wondered if this visit would be any better than the others. Would he get the same coldness he got from McGee, Ziva, and Abby?

Gibbs walked into Autopsy and found Ducky and Palmer cleaning the room. It seemed they weren't busy and were doing a some maintenance.

Ducky looked up when he heard someone come in. Upon seeing Gibbs, he turned to his assistant. "Mr. Palmer, perhaps you should take an early lunch today."

"Sure, Doctor," Palmer said said before taking off his rubber gloves and heading for the door. He gave Gibbs a quick glare as he did.

"Jethro. I see you made it," Ducky said neutrally as he began scrubbing the tables.

"Yeah, well, my case was reopened. Couldn't have thought I'd stay away," Gibbs said.

"No, I knew you'd be on the next plane. It's best. Hopefully you and Anthony can help Timothy and his team close this," Ducky said.

"He's different," Gibbs said, not specifying who he was talking about, but knowing Ducky would already know.

"Yes, very much so. I imagine he didn't respond well when you tried to take control of the investigation," Ducky said. No one had told him anything that went down between the two men, but he knew Gibbs. He knew he would try to take over the case and he knew Timothy wouldn't roll over for him.

Gibbs shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what's wrong with them. Abby and Ziva would barely speak to me and pretty much dismissed me. They act like I'm an outsider getting in their way."

"By dismissed you, you mean that he wouldn't hand over what earned many years ago, yes?" Ducky asked.

"All I wanted was this one case, Ducky. It's my case," Gibbs said.

"It was your case eleven years ago, but you left. It is no longer your case. This may have escaped your attention, but you can't legally run murder cases for NCIS anymore," Ducky said.

Gibbs shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time I bent the rules. Look, McGee's only been in charge for three years. This was a hard case for me, let alone him. I want this closed for good."

"Timothy is good at what he does, Jethro. Do not underestimate his abilities," Ducky said.

"I'm not, but McGee knows I can do this better than he can. Been doing it much longer," Gibbs said.

"You expected him to hand over his team as well as his case to you. Timothy is as protective of his people as you were with yours. You would never have handed your team over without a big fight," Ducky said.

"Not the same. I'm not some outsider from the FBI or CIA. I trained McGee. He knows me. He should trust me. Instead he and everyone else are treating me like the enemy," Gibbs said.

Ducky sighed. "What were you expecting when you walked through the front door? Did you think things would be the way you left them? Did you really think that from Mexico, you could control how your former team lived their lives. You left, Jethro. Anthony barely lasted a month before he left too. That was two life altering actions in thirty days. You really believed everything would be the same?"

"Thought they'd move on under Tony's tutelage. Yeah, I get it was a life change, but they'd learn to deal with it. They were all adults. They know how to adjust to change," Gibbs said.

Ducky shook his head in disbelief. "Change? Is that all it was to you? Jethro, those young people cared about you. You broke them when you left! Abigail cried over you constantly. Ziva didn't show it, but she was hurt badly, as was Timothy. Your departures put the biggest burden on him. He was dealing with pain and anger while trying to help his teammates and being groomed to take over for you."

"What was I supposed to do, Ducky. I had the right to leave! People retire all the time. Not seeing the unforgivable sin," Gibbs said. He got people being hurt, but he didn't understand them judging him. He didn't understand the coldness they addressed him with because he made the decision to leave after fifteen years.

"You're right, you did, but not in the way you did it. You say they treat you know as though you are nothing? Well, consider it payback because that's how you treated all of us. We all had to go on, Jethro. This is the result, like it or not," Ducky said harshly before turning away from him.

Realizing his old friend was done talking to him, Gibbs walked away. He wasn't sure what to say now anyway.


	9. Chapter 9

Tim came back hours later pushing a dolly with a bunch of filing boxes on it. Ziva was the first to notice him. "What is that, McGee?"

"Oh, Ziva, you are going to regret asking me that," Tim said with a smirk before putting a box on her desk. "These are copies of cases matching our killer's MO from Metro from the last fifteen to twenty years.

"Oh, man," Brooks groaned.

"Yes, you will all hate me in about five minutes. Now before you come to my house and slash my tires, know that my building has security cameras and II will make your lives hell," Tim joked.

"Pretty sure we're already there, Boss," Brooks said as a box was put up on his desk.

"Boss, our MO is simply stabbing. There are millions of those a year," Ralph said.

"No, our MO is brutal stabbing. He enjoys killing and causing as much damage as he can while doing so. I want to establish a pattern. Maybe we can find a case where he wasn't so good at hiding evidence," Tim told the man before putting a box on his desk as well. He then put one on his own and brought the last two over to where Gibbs and Tony were.

"You really think this is the best use of our time right now?" Gibbs asked. He could see having one or two agents doing this, but the rest of them should be talking to people and looking for evidence, not going through cold cases.

"Yes," was all Tim said before putting the box on Gibbs' desk and walked away from him. He approached Tony and saw that the man was barely paying attention. He seemed lost in thought. "DiNozzo, you with me?"

Tony had been semi paying attention. He'd heard what McGee wanted, but half his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking on what Agent Brooks had told him. That was pretty much all he thought about since they got back from the coffee run. He tried not to think about it, but the more he tried not to, the more he did think about it and the more awful he felt.

Tony forced himself to put it aside, at least long enough to answer McGee and try to get some work done. He avoided eye contact though, feeling too guilty to look at the younger man directly. "Yeah, sorry, McGee. I'm with you," he said before taking the box from him.

Tim was pleasantly surprised by Tony's response. He thought the man might complain about having to go through the files, like Gibbs tried to. He was glad to see that he hadn't. However, he'd also noticed the way Tony hadn't met his eyes and wondered what was up.

Tim looked at Tony for a minute, but quickly gave up and went back to his desk. He had bigger concerns right now. "Did we work out any witnesses connected to all three men?"

"Possibly. Talen and Richards both met through Mickey, so he connects all of them. Mickey has a younger sister who was not interviewed eleven years ago. We are trying to get in touch with her," Ziva said.

"Good, keep trying. What about Richard's wife? When is she supposed to be coming in?" Tim asked.

"Around four. She could not make it in any earlier. Ralph and I also interviewed a couple of others earlier. There is nothing knew there." Ziva said.

Tim nodded. "Alright, let's get through these files then," Tim said as he started on his own box.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

About an hour later, Tony was leaning against the wall by the Mens room. He'd needed to be alone for a while and away from Ziva and McGee. The more he saw them, the more guilty he felt. As he thought about his actions five years ago, he knew how selfish they were. It was even more selfish that it never even occurred to him that his team, his family really, might be hurt by the way he left, especially since the shock of Gibbs leaving had barely left everyone.

Tony thought about the way he left. It was almost like he was reliving it. It was cold, much like Gibbs'. He told them he was transferring and basically walked away without letting them even say anything. He did that because he thought it would be easier on himself. He didn't want them to try to convince him stay or call him out on the coward he knew he was being.

When he thought back, he remembered the frosty looks and the hurt and anger laced voices. He chose to ignore them before because he didn't want to see that they were in pain. He didn't want to care what it was doing to them. The only person he could think about back then was himself. He'd been seriously selfish and he knew it. And he couldn't fix it. He could never fix what he broke that day. All he had to do was look at them to know that. They were too different. Well, McGee was anyway. He was so different. He was stronger. He'd had to learn before he was ready. He'd had to figure out how to do what Tony wasn't willing to, and he didn't just mean being the boss. McGee had had to repair the damage that Tony and Gibbs had caused when they left. And now Tony was sure his former probie was someone that was a hell of a lot less forgiving.

"You alright, DiNozzo?"

Tony turned to see the last person he wanted to. Gibbs. He never thought he'd say the those words, but he didn't wanna be around Gibbs. He hadn't felt that way when Gibbs first got to NCIS, but since analyzing his own actions, he did. Tony knew he was at fault for leaving. He had to be responsible for his actions. But Gibbs was too. He started all of it by leaving himself in the same cold, selfish manner. He just didn't wanna be around him. "I'm fine. Just needed a few minutes to myself."

"Be over soon, DiNozzo. You know, if you had stayed where you were supposed to, I'd have the lead and we could get through it quicker," Gibbs said. He was still a bit irritated that Tony had left when he'd basically handed him the dream position. He also knew that if Tony was in charge, he would've let Gibbs lead.

Tony twitched angrily. "Did you really just say that to me?"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What right do you have to judge me leaving? You bailed like a coward and left the rest of us in the wind!" Tony said in a very low tone. The others he would take it from if they came at him. He more than deserved it for doubling their pain. But Gibbs? There was no way in hell he deserved to be judged by the man that left them all to rot, never even bothering to pick up the phone.

Gibbs was surprised by the reaction. It wasn't that Ducky's words were lost on him, but he really didn't feel he did anything wrong. He had the right to leave after fifteen years with the agency and he thought Tony of all people would get that. Tony had been the agent that always seemed to understand him the most. "I retired. You left because it got too hard."

Tony was seething. He had to actually count to ten to stop himself from screaming at the man in front of him, and the only reason he even tried to do that was because he didn't think Director Shepard would appreciate him putting on a show for all of NCIS. "Do not think you have a clue about why I left! You weren't here, remember? You don't get to tell me why I left and you don't get an opinion on it!"

Gibbs couldn't get over the way Tony was speaking to him. It was like he hadn't been his boss for years and the man hadn't respected him as that and more for years. "Cut the disrespect, DiNozzo!"

"What reason have you given me lately to show you respect?" Tony asked before pushing past him and going back towards the bullpen.


	10. Chapter 10

Tim walked into Autopsy, immediately hearing the voices of Ducky and Palmer.

"Abby says he didn't even seem to get why she was mad. She actually threw away the Caf-Pow he brought her," Palmer was saying.

Well, that statement was enough for Tim to know who the two men were talking about. Apparently at some point, Gibbs had learned that Abby had stopped looking at him like he could do no wrong. Still, it was surprising that she actually threw away a Caf-Pow. That was like murder in her eyes.

"Yes, he seemed to be very confused by the treatment he was receiving when he was down here, Ducky said.

Palmer was the first one to notice the team leader in the room. "Hey, McGee. How are things going?"

"If you mean Gibbs, you seem to have a good handle on how they're going," Tim said.

"Yeah, it's probably the worst for you. You've got the job of keeping him in line," Palmer said.

"And that is a job that can't pay enough," Ducky joked.

Tim laughed. "Yeah. So you wanted to see me, Ducky."

"I did say at your convenience, Timothy," Ducky said. It wasn't case related. He merely wanted to see how the young man was doing with everything.

"Ducky, right now, my team is going through cold case files trying to find murderers that fit our very generic MO. I cannot ever count how many files I've gone through in the last hour and a half," Tim said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Ah, so my call was a welcome distraction. Uh, Mr. Palmer, would you mind giving us the room?" Ducky asked.

"Of course. I have some things in the office to do," he said before heading into Ducky's office and shutting the door.

"I really only called you down to see how you're doing?" Ducky said.

"I figured that. I'm fine, Ducky. It's everyone else I'm worried about. Abby, Ziva, you," Tim said.

"Oh, there is no need to worry about me, my boy. I won't deny being hurt just like everyone else when Jethro left with no word, but I have dealt with it," Ducky said. The others were his concern because while he and Jethro were friends, the other man was like a father to these young people. He knew they felt abandoned.

"So have I," Tim said.

"Yes, you had no choice. You had a lot to deal with back then. Anthony had just left as well and the director was preparing you to take his place. As such, you thought it was also your job to be strong for everyone else," Ducky said.

"It was. I was eventually going to be in charge. It was my job to keep what was left of the tea together," Tim said. If there was only one thing Gibbs taught him that he took to heart, it was not treat his agents as just agents. They worked together everyday. They were meant to have each other's backs. They needed to trust each other inside and out. That couldn't happen if they were just coworkers. He needed them to know he was there for them, just as he taught them to be there for each other.

"Perhaps, but it pushed your own pain aside. That is why I've always tried to be there for you," Ducky said.

Tim smiled. "You have, just like you were with Gibbs. So I guess I should be honest with you. It does bother me that Gibbs doesn't trust my judgement or my ability to lead. It doesn't surprise me, but it bugs me."

"Me as well, Timothy. You have done remarkably well as team lead. It isn't right for anyone to demean you, and from what I've heard, you haven't let him," Ducky said.

"No. Despite the director telling him it was my case, he still came at me about handing it over. He found out quickly that it wasn't going to happen. It hasn't stopped him from questioning me every step of the way, but I'm handling it," Tim said.

"Jethro doesn't accept change very easily. I don't think he believes that a person can change as much as you have. It probably doesn't help that he wasn't here to see it," Ducky said.

"I doubt it would've happened if he had been," Tim said. He had no doubt that he would change some, but not like this and not as fast as he did. He'd had to change. He'd had to grow a backbone if he expected to be taken seriously by a team of agents, as well as anyone outside the agency that he'd have to deal with, like SecNav or the FBI.

"Yes, I think you're correct there. For that reason, it's good for you that he left," Ducky said. It really was best for Timothy that Gibbs and Anthony left. He wouldn't be where he was if they'd stayed and that wouldn't have been right. In fact, it would've been a violation of Gibbs' rule number five.

"It's not his leaving I have an issue with. I did at first. It was seriously painful, but understand now that the decision was best for him. He'd had enough. I respect that, but he didn't have to do it the way he did. He could've at least made us understand why he had to go and kept in touch. He left us wondering if we'd ever hear from him again," Tim said.

"Believe me, Timothy, I understand. I told Jethro that the way he left was wrong. I do believe he will see it eventually, but he will fight it. I have a question for you. Should he finally accept the truth and ask for forgiveness, could you give it him?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know. If he'd asked years ago, yeah, I probably would've, but it's been five years. For one, I'm not that forgiving anymore and for another, I think it's been too long. I honestly don't know. But that's okay because I won't have to find out. We both know Gibbs doesn't ask forgiveness," he said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked back through the bullpen to his desk. He noticed Ziva on her phone and the others all continuing with the cold cases.

"I swear if I read one more of these, I'm going to lose all ability to read, maybe even see," Ralph groaned.

Tim laughed. "Let's not exaggerate, Jason."

"McGee, I am calling Jane Richards, as she has not arrived yet," Ziva said.

Tim made it to his desk just as his phone rang. He immediately answered it. "McGee. Yes, Detective? Crap! Okay, we'll be right there. Thanks," he said before hanging up. "Ziva, you can hang up the phone. She's not gonna answer."

Ziva frowned and hung up. "Why not?"

"She's dead. Grab your gear," Tim ordered before standing up. He watched everyone go towards the elevator. He waited until Gibbs started to go as well and stepped in front of him.

"I'm going, McGee," Gibbs said while giving the younger man one of his famous stares.

Tim wasn't planning to argue that. They didn't make a habit of taking retired agents to crime scenes, but he could use every pair of eyes possible. "That's fine, but you do what I say and stick close by. I have a murderer on the loose and his body count seems to be climbing. I…"

"Then do what you should've done from the beginning!" Gibbs growled.

"Get over it!" Tim yelled, tired of the older man's attitude. "You don't like that I took your place. Well, I don't care! You left, it's not your call. Now, I don't have time to argue with you about every decision I make. Deal, just like we had to!" he said before walking away, not even turning around to see if Gibbs was following.


	11. Chapter 11

Tim led his team, Tony, and Gibbs towards the front door of Jane Richards' home. He showed his badge to the officers when they walked in and then headed towards the man that looked like he was in charge. "Detective Carver?"

"Agent McGee," the detective said before shaking his hand. "I heard you were looking into stabbing victims. I figured it was probably a coincidence, but I figured I should call just in case."

"I appreciate the call," Tim said.

"We received a call from a neighbor about a disturbance. Patrol officers found her as she was and called it in. I called you as soon as we arrived and made sure no one touched anything. Figured you'd want to gather everything yourself," Detective Carver said.

"Thank you. Who was the neighbor that called it in?" Tim asked.

"A couple next door to the right, James and Diana Morgan. They heard yelling and things breaking. I already spoke to them. They didn't actually see anything," he said.

"Was there any signs of breaking and entering?" Tim asked.

"No, but there was definitely a struggle. There's broken glass on the floor near the body."

"Okay, thanks. We'll take it from here," Tim said.

"Okay. Call if there's anything else we can do," the detective said before heading to the door, beckoning his officers with him.

Tim turned to the others. "Alright, Ducky should be here soon. In the meantime, Ralph start taking photos. Brooks, you start bagging and tagging. Ziva, Tony, I want this place completely dusted for prints. Make sure to cover every surface."

"Of course, McGee," Ziva said while Tony nodded. They both watched as Tim walked away and then got to work.

Tony got out the necessary tools and started dusting the coffee table. "So there was no sign of a struggle. She let him in. You think she hired him to kill her husband and his friends and he took her out to protect himself?"

"There is no evidence to prove that," Ziva said shortly as she worked on the end table a few feet away by the couch.

"Yeah, but it's a workable theory," Tony said.

"So is that she was killed because the killer worried that Christopher Talen shared whatever information he had with her. She is the one that told me he had a lead," Ziva said just as coldly.

Tony stopped and turned to his former partner. "I'm sorry, Ziva. I know that I hurt you all and I am really sorry."

Ziva turned and glared at him. "You were not sorry when you arrived. Brooks said something to you during your coffee run. I will kill him."

"He was looking out for you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Tony said.

"You did not care," she said coldly.

"That's not true. I was just hurt. I didn't think I could handle being in Gibbs' spot. I didn't want to be there when he wasn't," Tony said.

"Neither did we! We all had to move on after Gibbs' abrupt retirement. We did not run away like cowards!" Ziva yelled.

"Hey."

Both of them turned to see Tim looking none too pleased. "Do the two you get that this is a crime scene?"

Tony sighed and looked down.

"I am sorry, McGee," Ziva said.

Tim beckoned Ziva towards him and led the way into a corner. "You know better than to go at it with someone at a crime scene."

"He brought it up," Ziva said.

"I don't care. He's not on my team, you are, and you know I won't put up with this kind of thing. The case comes first, another thing you know very well. I should be able to trust you to at least remain civil while in the field!" Tim said firmly.

"You are right. It will not happen again," Ziva promised. She knew that he was right. She should not have allowed this to happen in the middle of a case. She should have ignored Tony or found some way of stopping the conversation.

"It better not," Tim said before walking away. He went back over to Tony. "You let your people bring personal business out in the field?"

"No," Tony said in an apologetic tone. He too knew this was the wrong venue for them to have it out. He just didn't want to go any longer without saying it. He still didn't, which was why his next words had a double meaning."I'm sorry."

Tim could tell that the apology wasn't just for the fight with Ziva, but he refused to think about it right now. It was not the time. If Tony wanted to talk about the past, he'd listen, but not while at a crime scene or even on the job.

Luckily, Tim didn't need to respond to Tony because Ducky and Palmer came in at that moment. "Hello, Timothy. Where are we going?"

"Kitchen," Tim said before leading the way in there. They found Gibbs kneeling over the body.

"Hello, Jethro. Some room please," Ducky said politely.

Gibbs stood up and took a few steps back.

"Well, from the looks of things, it's seems it's definitely the same killer," Ducky said as he bent down to examine the body.

"Yeah, there's a lot of blood," Palmer said.

"She also has some bruising on her neck, indicating that he choked her," Ducky said.

"Well, that's our first anomaly. None of the other victims were choked," Tim said.

"All the other victims were men," Gibbs pointed out.

"True, but he shouldn't have needed to do it. Aside from defensive wounds, the others didn't put up much of a fight, and the first time he took on three at once," Tim said.

"Never got that. Never got how he got all three of 'em so easily. They weren't drunk or drugged,so it shouldn't have been so easy, unless there was more than one killer," Gibbs said.

"But we don't really know for sure that they were killed at once," Tony said from the doorway, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Gibbs, you and I figured they were all killed at once because they were found together and they were friends, but we don't know that for sure."

Tim thought for a minute. "So they were lured one by one to the warehouse and murdered. I guess that's a possibility. It's the only way I can see these guys not putting up a huge fight."

"Unless there was more than one killer," Tony said.

"Killer or killers, we need to find answers. The body count is already at five. We don't let it get to six

"Boss, I think I've got something," Brooks said from a few feet away.

Tim immediately went over and knelt by his agent. "What is it?"

"These drops of blood are separate from the rest. Our victim may have gotten the drop on our killer before he got her," Brooks said.

"That might explain why he was pissed enough to try to choke her. We'll get it to Abby and hope she can identify him," Tim said before standing up. Finally, it looked like they might have a promising lead.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim turned to Ziva as they walked through the bullpen. "Ziva, I want the families of all these men brought in and put into protective custody. I don't know if he's going after the family members of the original victims or it was just the last two, but we take no chances."

"I will get on that right away," Ziva promised as she got to her desk.

"I'll help," Tony offered.

"Good. The rest of you, find me something. I don't care how," Tim said.

"McGee."

Tim turned to see Jenny leaning over the railing. He immediately walked up the stairs. "I don't have anything good, Director."

"I know you have another body," Jenny said.

"Yeah, Jane Richard's. She was married to one of the original victims, Samuel Richards," Tim said as they walked down towards her office. They walked into the outer office and straight into the director's office itself.

"Are we dealing with a serial killer?" Jenny asked as she walked behind her desk and sat down.

Tim sat down in front of the desk. "Well, he's got the body count, but no, I don't think this is a typical serial killer. There's no pattern like with a serial killer, no real MO except that he seems to like stabbing and serious bloodshed. I have no doubt that we're dealing with someone who likes to kill, but he doesn't fit the profile of a serial killer. We're leaning towards an overzealous hitman.

"Nothing that can tell us who he is?" Jenny asked

"We found some blood at the last crime scene that might belong to him. We also dusted for prints. I'm hoping Abby can tell us who he is," Tim said.

"I know you know this, but this case needs to be solved soon. We don't need another murder on our hands," Jenny said.

Tim nodded.

"Are Tony and Gibbs any help?" Jenny asked.

"Tony is actually going out of his way to be useful. He hasn't questioned a single order, which is surprising. Gibbs is making up for that," Tim said. He really did appreciate Tony's cooperation. He would've thought the man would at least question his lead like Gibbs did. He did a little when he first found out, but he quickly seemed to get over it. That's why Tim had decided that at the very least, he would listen to whatever it was Tony had to say later. He couldn't guarantee forgiveness, but he would hear him out. He deserved that much.

Jenny chuckled. "That does not surprise me. I'm guessing he's already tried and failed to get you to hand the case over."

"The first thing he did. I'm handling him," Tim said. He wasn't enjoying trying to keep him in line, as it was a full time job he didn't have time for, but he could handle it.

"I heard. Scuttlebutt is on high alert when Gibbs' former junior agent tells him to 'get over it'," Jenny said. She'd heard that news. Some had been surprised, despite having seen McGee change and toughen up over the last five years. She wasn't one of them. She knew damn well he'd stand up to him.

Tim sighed. "I tried to keep it calm, but there had just been a murder and I was tired of controlling Gibbs while also trying to solve this case."

"I'm not going to lecture you. Gibbs doesn't listen to rationalization when he thinks he's right. A lot of times, you have no choice but to loudly force him to hear you. Anyway, you should get back to it. Find out who's doing this before anyone else dies and this gets leaked to the press as serial killing. No one wants that kind of panic getting out," Jenny said.

"On it, Director," Tim said before getting up and heading out of the room


	12. Chapter 12

Tony and Ralph sat with Christina Mickey in the conference room. They'd finally managed to locate her and brought her Maryland and had her brought in. "I don't know why I'm here, especially at this hour.

"Ms. Mickey, you're here because your life could be in danger," Ralph said.

"From who? she asked.

"From the person who murdered your brother," Tony said.

The young woman stiffened. "It's been eleven years since Alex's death. If his murderer wanted me dead too, he would've done it already."

"Christina, your brother's killer is active again. He's killed two family members of the original victims," Tony said.

Christina blanched a bit, but she quickly recovered. "You should've done your jobs a decade ago and stopped this guy!"

Tony cringed. Honestly, that thought had creeped up in his head many times since he'd arrived. He kept thinking of something he could've come up with then that would've ended it before those two people were killed. But then again, they had very little even now.

"Do you have any idea who could've killed your brother and his friends?" Ralph asked

"No, and I told you people that years ago!"

"No, you didn't. I was the agent you spoke with eleven years ago. You never said much of anything about the murders. I never got a a chance to ask. You hung up on me right after I informed you of your brother's death," Tony said. He was getting suspicious. This girl was hiding something.

"Oh. Well, you had just told me my brother was dead. I was pretty upset. I guess I got confused about what I said.

"So you don't know anyone who'd hurt your brother?" Tony asked.

"No. Alex didn't have enemies. He was a good guy and he was a bartender, so his work didn't exactly make him enemies," she said.

"What about the two friends he was killed with? Did you know them?" Tony asked.

"I met them a couple of times, but I didn't hang out with them. I was nineteen and they were in their mid twenties. They were Alex's friends, not mine," Christina said.

"Okay, thanks. We wanna get you into a safe house just in case this guy comes after you," Ralph said.

She nodded.

Tony and Ralph quickly got up and left the room. "I think she's hiding something?"

"She is? She knows something about this, but we can't confront her on it until we get some leverage," Tony said.

"I'll work on that," Ralph said.

"Yeah. I'll meet you in the bullpen. I'm going to the head," Tony said before starting to walk away.

"Talk to him, DiNozzo," Ralph said.

Tony turned back towards him. "What?"

"Look, I don't know what happened. They won't talk about it, but I know you and Gibbs did something to piss everyone off. I can also tell that you regret it. Tell McGee. He'll listen," Ralph said.

"I don't know about that," Tony said. He wasn't certain McGee would listen, or that he should. Tony didn't deserve to be forgiven, especially after so long, and Tim wasn't like he once was. He was harder and probably less forgiving.

"I'm not saying he won't have things to say to you that you won't love hearing. I'm not saying he'll forgive you either. I don't know what you did, so I can't really comment on that. But he will hear you out," Ralph said.

"Thanks," Tony said.

Ralph nodded and headed back to the bullpen.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into Abby's lab to see if she had results for him yet. She was his second stop. He'd already spoken to Ducky about the autopsy, which showed nothing spectacular.

Abby was by the computer and noticed Tim right after he came in. "McGee, good. I was about to call you. Results are in and I wanna give them to you so I can go home. There's nothing else you need, right?"

"No, it's fine, Abbs. Feel free to head out after this. I appreciate you staying this long. What do you have?" Tim asked.

"Well, the fingerprints were no help. Aside from a few partials, they all belonged to Jane Richards," Abby said.

"What about the blood? Anything there?" Tim asked.

"Well, yes, but also no," she said.

Tim raised in eyebrow in response.

"Well, there is a match in the system, but at the same time, it's not really a match," Abby said.

"You lost me. What does that mean?" Tim asked.

Abby turned to her computer and started typing and pulled up the results. "The blood matched another murder case from thirteen years ago. A guy named Cole Robin was stabbed to death in Warrenton, Virginia. He left DNA behind, but there was no match to that result, so while it's a match…"

"It doesn't really help. It means our killer has never been in the system. Somehow he managed to get away from any crimes he committed. It also means the death toll is at least six for this guy," Tim said.

Abby nodded. "Sorry I couldn't be more helpful."

"You gave me a place to start. We'll start looking into that case in the morning. Go home, Abby. It's been a hell of a day," Tim said.

Abby nodded and grabbed her stuff, which she already had out and ready for when she left. She then followed Tim out of the lab, quickly locked up and got into the elevator, which was held for her. "Thanks, Timmy.

Tim hit the button for the bullpen. "I think you should talk to him, Abby."

Abby decided not to even pretend she didn't know who he meant. "No."

"Abby, this has been affecting your life for five years. Talk to Gibbs, not for his sake, for yours. You need to find some peace with this," Tim said.

"Are you gonna do the same?" Abby asked.

"I will listen and talk should he want to talk to me about anything that doesn't involve bullying me to hand him my case. But it's not the same, Abs. You thought of Gibbs as a father. No one in this building was closer to him than you and you felt the same.

"No, father's don't go out of contact for five years. I wasn't even good enough to say goodbye to. He didn't speak a single word to me!" Abby cried. She was so hurt by that. Gibbs had simply put a finger to her lips to quiet her and kissed her on the cheek. Like that would really be enough for her.

Tim stopped the elevator just as the doors were about to open and pulled Abby into his arms. "I know he hurt you a lot, Abby. I think you need to tell him that. He needs to know what he put you through and you need to get it off your chest so you can let it all go."

Abby let go after a second and wiped her eyes. "Then doesn't he need to know what he put you through?"

"Like I said, it's not the same," Tim said. Actually the truth was that he didn't want Gibbs to see that weakness in him. He'd worked hard to become a strong person, mostly out of necessity, but he didn't want Gibbs or Tony seeing anything else. He would listen to them should they ask, but he would not them in that way. Well, at least not Gibbs, not when he'd shown that he didn't really care or have any respect at all for him. With Abby, it was kind of different because of how close the two were. She needed to let Gibbs know what he'd done to her.

Tim quickly hit the switch to turn the elevator back on and the doors opened. "Have a good night, Abby."

"Bye, Timmy."

Tim headed towards his desk and addressed the team. "Go home. We're not getting anything else done tonight."

Ziva, Brooks, and Ralph wasted no time getting their things together.

Tony grabbed his things too, but stopped when he reached Tim's desk.

Tim of course noticed. "What do you need, Tony."

Tony took a couple of seconds to work up the nerve to speak. "I know it's late, but I was wondering if you had time for coffee."

Tim considered turning Tony down. Again, he intended to listen to Tony, but it was very late and he was tired, so he considered putting the man off. But the pleading look in the other team leader's eyes made him take pity. "Sure. I'll meet you at the one around the corner from here."

Tony nodded gratefully and headed for the elevator.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony was sitting at a table outside the coffee shop. It was a warm enough night out and he figured it was better that they were outside in case there was yelling. This conversation has a ninety percent chance of getting extremely heated.

Tony was nervous. He never thought he'd ever reach the point where he'd be afraid of what Tim McGee would have to say to him. Then again, he never thought McGee would be equal to him in power and authority either. McGee had changed a lot, which was why Tony was so nervous. He didn't know what to expect from this man. All he knew was that he had to try to at least apologize properly.

Sooner than Tony would've liked, Tim had arrived and made his way over. He wanted to apologize and say his peace, but his stomach did backflips as he thought about the upcoming confrontation. "Hey."

"Hey," Tim repeated before sitting across from his former team member.

"You gonna grab coffee," Tony asked.

Tim shook his head. "No. This meeting isn't really about coffee and I need to sleep tonight, so caffeine isn't the best idea. So go ahead. Say what you want."

Tony took a deep breath. "Okay, first I want to tell you again that I'm sorry for what happened today at that crime scene. You were right. I had no business bringing up personal issues like that in the field, especially since I knew it would only cause friction. It was my fault. Don't blame Ziva."

"it was both your faults. You for bringing it up and her for not letting the matter drop. But I said what I needed to about it and you both seem to get the point, so apology accepted," Tim said.

Tony nodded. "I also want to apologize for how I reacted when I first found out you were in charge." He hadn't started ridiculing the man or anything, but he had taken brief offense to having to work under his command and he had believed that McGee wasn't good enough to lead his own team. The last part was proven wrong pretty damn quickly.

Tim shrugged. "I expected that reaction from you. In fact, I expected it to be worse."

"It wasn't right. I guess I was kind of put out t having to take orders from my own probie," Tony said.

"You also didn't think I could do it," Tim commented.

Tony's first instinct was to deny that statement, even though it was true. He didn't want McGee to know he thought that way or to admit how wrong he'd been, but if he really wanted forgiveness, he needed to own up to his faults completely. There could be no more lies. "Yes. I never pictured anything other than the insecure computer geek I knew five years ago. When I saw that the only desk left was the team leader's when we got here, I assumed you'd left. It never even occurred to me that you might have moved up. When I found out you did, I can't deny that a part of me thought that somebody screwed up. I was wrong. You're not how you used to be. You're so much different now."

"I had to be," Tim said in a slightly cool tone.

"Did you know when I left that you'd be moving up?" Tony asked curiously. He'd wondered that since Brooks pretty much told him that the director spend those first two years grooming him for the job.

"I knew since the day you told us you were transferring. I didn't tell you because I didn't feel you had a right to the information," Tim told him, already anticipating the question.

Tony was hurt by the last statement, but he knew that it was true. He didn't have a right to it, and honestly, if he had known, he probably would've said something that made things worse for the soon to be team leader. He already knew he wouldn't have been respectful of the idea. He would've said something hurtful. "You're right, I didn't. I was an ass."

A quick nod was Tim's only reply.

"Ziva thinks that I don't care that I hurt you all, but that's not true," Tony said.

"I know it's not. I know you care now. We wouldn't be having this conversation right now if you didn't. But it doesn't matter if you care now. You showed no concern at all for anyone when you left. That's what matters."

"I know. I guess I was still trying to be Gibbs then and failed miserably," Tony said glumly.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "I beg to differ. You not only passed, you excelled. For the life of me though, I don't know why you'd ever think that's a good thing. You experienced Gibbs' 'goodbye' just like the rest of us, Tony. Was there really so much to admire and be proud of?"

"I wasn't angry at Gibbs then, at least not that I realized. I didn't start to get angry until today. When I realized what I'd done, I realized what he had and I started getting angry," Tony said.

"What you've done. You think you know what you've done?" Tim asked coldly.

"Yeah. I know I hurt everyone," Tony said sadly.

"No, you don't! You don't know what it was like when you left. You and Gibbs broke the team. We were all already reeling from Gibbs walking out and then you did the same! You broke Abby and Ziva all over again! Things were a mess! They had to deal with a new boss, new coworkers. They were forced to pick up their lives from the second painful event in a month! They had to deal with a plethora of abandonment issues that you created! Do you know how many times I had assure Abby that I wasn't going to be next?" Tim asked angrily. He'd told himself he would listen and not judge at least until Tony finished, but that wasn't working out great. Anger took over mere seconds after this conversation started.

Tony noticed that McGee hadn't mentioned himself at all, probably not wanting to let him know that he was hurt too. Tony knew he was though. He could see it, even if the younger man wouldn't voice it. "I didn't want to hurt anyone."

"You didn't give one thought to us," Tim said.

"It's not that I didn't care about what you were feeling. I just chose not to think about it. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to feel the guilt of hurting you. I didn't want to be burdened with whatever you were feeling. And you don't have to say it. It makes me a selfish SOB," Tony said.

"You think?" Tim deadpanned.

"I wanted to leave and not feel bad about it, like Gibbs did. He left after a few words and it seemed to have no effect on him. He moved on. That was what I wanted," Tony explained.

"Selfish SOB works for Gibbs too."

Tony nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't let myself think about it before, but thinking back, I know how cold my goodbye was."

"Goodbye? There was no goodbye, Tony. You told us you were leaving and then went back to business as usual. You didn't give us a chance to even react to it. You acted like you'd worked with us for a few months instead of years and we nothing to you. That is not a goodbye," he said.

"No, I guess not. I really didn't mean to hurt you all. I just couldn't stay. Gibbs leaving was really painful and I couldn't stay without him," Tony said sadly as he looked down at his coffee.

"It was for all of us. We all had to deal with his leaving. Then we had to deal with you leaving," Tim said.

"And you all stayed and worked through it. I get it. I know I'm a coward for leaving," Tony said. Gibbs words him earlier were true. He just didn't have the right to say them.

"I don't consider you a coward for leaving, Tony. For the way you left, yeah I do. I consider you a bastard for it as well. Although, on the matter of you leaving, I do wanna know why you didn't come to us before you made the decision to leave. We could've at least tried to help you," Tim said. He would've helped Tony if he'd asked. They all could've banded together to try to get through it.

"Because you weren't supposed to help me. I was the leader. I was the one that was supposed to help the others and I couldn't. I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't lead you. Every time I sat in Gibbs' desk, it felt wrong. Every time I even walked through the bullpen and he wasn't there, it felt wrong. Didn't it feel that way to you?" Tony asked.

"At first," Tim admitted. "Having a new person at the head desk felt very weird and abnormal, as did having a new agent to take my place as junior agent. Adjusting to all of it took time."

"And you managed. I couldn't. I didn't see a point where I would be okay staying here," Tony said.

"Then you should've said that. We still wouldn't have wanted you to go, but we would've respected your decision. You should've come to us and told you how you felt instead of walking away with barely a few words and treating us like acquaintances that you pretend you never knew later," Tim said.

"I know. I'm sorry, McGee. Is there anyway for me to fix it?" Tony asked.

"No. But maybe we can try to start over," Tim said. After listening to Tony, he realized that the man had really only acted out of pain. He was far from off the hook and Tim knew there was no way they'd ever have the relationship they once did, but he was willing to try to forgive and give him another chance.

"Really?" Tony asked hopefully.

"It'll never be how it was. You need to know that now. I'm too different," Tim said.

"I know. Thanks, Tim," Tony said.

Tim nodded. "We should both get out of here now. Tomorrow promises to be as long as today was."

Tony stood up to leave. "Thanks again for listening and for giving me another chance."

"See you tomorrow," Tim said before heading out.


	14. Chapter 14

Tim walked into the bullpen the next morning and found his team's area empty except for Gibbs. He wasn't surprised. He was pretty early. His team still had about twenty minutes before they'd be considered later. He wasn't surprised to find Gibbs there so early either. Gibbs was always the first one in the office when he ran the team and Tim didn't expect it to be any different now.

Tim immediately went to his desk and powered up his computer. He and his team had a lot of work to do to close this case.

Gibbs suddenly got up and approached the young team leader's desk. "McGee."

Tim sighed and looked up at his former boss. "Gibbs."

"Think we could have a conversation?" Gibbs asked.

"Depends. If the conversation topic is on you trying to take over my team and my case, no," Tim said firmly.

"It was my team once, and for a whole lot longer. You remember that?" Gibbs asked.

Tim nodded. "Yeah. And before that, it was Mike Franks. Before him, it was someone else. A lot of people have inhibited this chair. I'm not really sure what your point is. On that note though, let me ask you a question. Would you step aside for Mike Franks?"

"That's not the same!" Gibbs bit out.

"No, I imagine it's not for you. It's because it's me that is sitting in this chair. You don't trust my ability to do this job. Well, frankly, Gibbs, that's your problem, not mine," Tim said, trying as hard as he could to make it sound like he didn't care. As much as he wanted to unaffected, it hurt to know that the man he'd worked so hard to impress as a probie and junior agent had no real respect for his ability. But Gibbs would never get to see that.

Just then, Tony came through with Brooks just a few feet behind him.

"Morning," Tim said.

"Morning, McGee," Tony said with a grin. He was in a pretty good mood after his conversation with McGee the night before. He knew he still had a lot of people he had to make amends with, but he was just happy that McGee was at least willing to give him another chance.

"Morning, Boss," Brooks said as he headed to his desk.

Ziva and Ralph showed within about five minutes of each other ten and fifteen minutes later.

"Alright, everyone, we've got a lot of work to do. We might have a small lead. The blood isolated from the rest of yesterday's crime scene was determined to be the killer's. Abby found a match right before we left last night," Tim said.

"There a reason you didn't mention this last night? With a name, we could've started looking for the bastard right away," Gibbs said as he glared at him.

Tim glared back at him. "If I could be allowed to finish please. The match was to another cold case from around thirteen years ago. A man named Cole Robin was murdered. We still don't have a name on the killer.

"Great. This guy has at least six bodies under his belt."

"And he's good at covering his tracks. We still have no idea who he even is," Ralph said.

"We're closer. He obviously slipped up with the first killing that we know about and he did with this last one too. This is at least something we never had before," Tony said.

"Yeah, it seems he messed up in the beginning. That's why I'm sending two of you to Warrington, Virginia where the first murder took place. I want you to see what you can find out from the original detectives and maybe even speak to some of the people they've talked to. I called ahead. They know someone will be coming," Tim said.

"I'll go, McGee," Tony volunteered.

"Good. You'll take Ziva with you too," Tim said.

Ziva looked up with a sour look on her face. She was clearly unhappy with that decision. "What? I can be of more use here, McGee."

"You're going with Tony, Ziva," Tim told her simply.

Ziva glared fiercely at her boss. She knew very well that he was doing this on purpose. He wanted her to talk to Tony, which she had no interest in.

Tim chuckled. "That look has no effect on me anymore."

Ziva huffed and grabbed her bag. "Let's go. I am driving!" she told Tony before angrily heading for the elevator.

Tony grabbed his own stuff and followed. "Thanks, Tim."

"Thank me if you come back alive," Tim said with amusement in his voice.

"Boss, I've got an angle with Mackey's sister that I want to follow. I think she might know something," Ralph said.

"Do it. You can help him with that, Brooks," Tim said.

"Got it, Boss," Brooks said.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony held onto the car door as hard as he could as Ziva went about ninety on the high way. Several times he'd go to look at her with the intention of talking to her, but every time, he wondered if it might be such a good idea when she held his life in her hands.

"Stop staring at me," Ziva grumbled as she drove. She'd caught Tony's eyes on her several times since they left the Navy yard.

"Sorry," Tony said as he looked away. Seconds later though, his eyes made their way back towards her. "I'm sorry, Ziva. I know you don't believe me, but I am sorry."

"You are correct! I do not believe you! I do not wish to discuss it either," Ziva said as pushed on the gas pedal a little more.

Tony yelped and gripped the door harder. "I was an ass, okay? I wanted to walk away without feeling bad, like Gibbs had. I chose not to think about what I was doing to anyone else because I didn't want to deal with it.

Ziva said nothing and showed no sign that she even heard what he said.

"Look, Gibbs leaving hurt me and I couldn't deal with it, not here. So I chose to leave and get away from this place," Tony said.

"Yes, and do to us what Gibbs did," Ziva said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't want to think about that. That's why I made my goodbye as impersonal as possible. Deep down, I knew what I was doing to you and I didn't wanna face that. I was a heartless bastard. I won't claim to be anything other than that. I can only say that I was hurt," Tony said.

"We all were!" Ziva exclaimed. "We were all jilted by Gibbs leaving! You made it worse by leaving yourself and not even giving us the courtesy of an explanation! You could've told us how you felt!"

"I…I'm not good at that. It's never been easy for me to tell people how I feel," Tony admitted.

"Yes, I know," Ziva conceded. It had become clear a long time ago that Tony indeed was about as good at revealing his feelings as she was. While she did it with coldness, he did so with jokes.

"The only person I even came close to letting in was Gibbs. He became important to me and I couldn't handle it when he just left like that. I couldn't be in the office anymore. I couldn't be your team leader. I tried. Yes, I know I didn't try for long, but I knew it wouldn't get any better. So I left, and because I didn't want to deal with your pain, I pretended like it wasn't even there," Tony said with sorrow in his voice.

"What do you want from me? I am not a forgiving person, Tony. You cannot expect me just do so with you now after five years!" Ziva said harshly.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness. I'm aware of that. I would like to try to earn it though. And the only way I know to start is to say that I'm sorry. Please, Ziva, give me a chance to earn the forgiveness you give to so few. Give me a chance," Tony pleaded.

Ziva sighed. Most of her wanted to tell him to go to hell. She did not want to forgive him, not after working so hard to get over what he did to her and the others. But after actually listening to him, she did know he truly was sorry, even if that didn't make much of a difference to her at this moment. She could see and hear the partner and friend she once knew. "I will consider it."

"Thank you," Tony said before turning to look out the window. He knew this was the best he was going to get right now.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony and Ziva were led into an office at the police station in Warrington by an officer. Behind the desk was a balding, middle-aged man in a suit.

"Lieutenant, these are the agents from NCIS," the officer said.

"Thank you," he said and watched as the officer left. Then he turned to the two agents. "Hi, I'm Lieutenant Forbes."

"Agent DiNozzo. This is Agent David," Tony introduced as he shook the man's hand.

Ziva shook hands with him as well. "I trust my supervisor has explained why we are here."

"Yes, you're interested in the murder of Cole Robin. That was a long time ago, but I remember it. Please, sit down," Forbes said as he motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk.

Tony and Ziva both sat down. "The DNA we found at the scene of our latest victim was a match for your guy."

"Yes, I heard this guy's responsible for a string of murders. I must say, we never considered a possible serial killer," Forbes said.

"Well, we are not ready to call him a serial killer, as he does not fit the MO, but he is extremely dangerous. He has at least five other bodies, going back eleven years," Ziva said.

Lieutenant Forbes pulled a folder out of one of the drawers of his desk and handed it over. "Here's the file. We got lucky and it didn't get lost, like many of the other files over the years."

Tony took and opened the file. He was immediately hit with the bloody image of the crime scene. "Well, this looks about right. It fits our MO. A messy and gruesome murder."

"It was definitely that. We didn't think it was anything like what you're dealing with though. We were thinking it was domestic," Forbes said.

"He was married?" Ziva asked.

"No, he had a girlfriend. She didn't have an alibi and she was the only one in town who even knew who he was. It was either her or a break in. It seemed too messy to be something like that, plus nothing was missing," Forbes explained.

Tony continued to read the file. "He was killed a hotel room. He wasn't from around here."

"Right. According to the girlfriend, they were just passing through and stopped for the night," he said.

"Can you tell us anything about the victim? Did you learn anything about his history?" Ziva asked.

"Not much. He was nineteen. He had no record. He had no family. His mother died of cancer when he was a child and his father was killed by a drunk driver two years before his death."

"Who was his girlfriend?" Ziva asked.

Tony looked up in shock after finding the answer himself in the file. "Christina Mackey."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"I screwed up," Tony said as he and Ziva walked back to the car.

"How do you mean?" Ziva asked.

"We never even considered Christina Mackey. She was thousands of miles away at college, at least I thought so. I didn't double check that. I spoke to her personally. I should've noticed how quick she was to get off the phone. I should've looked into her," Tony said.

"Her quickness to get off the phone could very well have been because of her grief. You had no reason to think otherwise," Ziva said. She was not going to let him blame himself. Despite how angry she was at Tony, she knew he had done everything he could to solve that case eleven years ago.

"Even if you're right, it doesn't excuse me for not at least double checking her whereabouts. I should've checked. I also should've looked into her past. I would've found out she was a suspect in the Robin case. It might have stopped two more murders from taking place," Tony said guiltily. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. He wasn't a rookie. Yes, he'd been fairly new to NCIS at the time, but he'd been a cop for years before that. He should've known better. anyway.

"I am not certain she is responsible. It took a lot to kill those men. One of them was military. Even if she could've killed them all, there would be evidence of a struggle," Ziva said.

"She knew them all. And maybe they weren't all killed at once. We were speculating that they might not have been killed together. Maybe she called them each, one by one, and surprised them," Tony said as they stopped in front ot the car.

"For what purpose? What reason did she have to kill them?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know."

"I do not believe it. Ralph said she appeared to be hiding something," Ziva said.

"Yeah, she seemed guilty about something," Tony said.

"I cannot believe this killer feels guilt. His murders have been way too vicious. He or she feels nothing for his victims," Ziva said.

"She's involved somehow. Gibbs might be gone from NCIS, but I still believe in many of his rules. I don't believe in coincidences," Tony said.

"Me either," Ziva stated.

"We should go back. I'll call McGee on the way," Tony said before getting in the car.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked down to Abby's lab. He felt he had to try to talk to her again. He couldn't stand the way things were between them. It was even worse than it was with the others. He and Abby had a special bond. He couldn't just let that go.

When Gibbs got down there, he found Abby in a hug with Palmer, who appeared to be comforting her. "It won't be much longer, I'm sure. The team will shut this case soon," Palmer was saying.

"Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate you coming to check on me," Abby said.

Gibbs felt awkward because he knew they were talking about him, but he refused to duck out. He'd come here for a reason. He wasn't leaving until he fixed this. So he cleared his throat to make his presence known.

The two broke apart and stiffened considerably. Abby looked away as soon as she realized who had interrupted and Palmer glared at Gibbs.

Gibbs stared at Palmer, silently telling him to leave, just as he always did in the past, but this time the ME assistant stood his ground and refused to take the hint. "Give us the room."

"I'll leave when and if Abby asks me too," Palmer said shortly.

Gibbs sent him a murderous look, but once more it was ignored. All it did was cause Palmer to glare more.

"Go, Jimmy. I'll be fine," Abby promised.

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything," Palmer said before squeezing her shoulder and walking away.

"Anybody here stay the same?" Gibbs asked.

"You'd know if you cared enough to keep in contact," Abby said sharply.

"Abby, I want to talk. I..."

"That would be a first. You haven't had anything to say to me in five years. What makes you think I have anything to say to you now?" Abby asked. She wasn't going to make this easy. Why should she. She'd been devastated by Gibbs' loss. It took her forever to come back from that. No, actually, it had taken McGee forever to bring her back from that. He'd really had a hard job, even before taking Gibbs' spot on the team.

Gibbs sighed. "Why is it that you all think you can condemn me for retiring? Everyone retires Abby. I gave this agency all I had for many years!" he said righteously. Yes, he remembered what Ducky said. That it wasn't him leaving, but the way he left. But he did it the way anyone would do it. He didn't see the problem.

Abby looked him like he'd lost his mind. "My God, you really think this is about you retiring? We don't care that you retired. Well, okay, we did care. It hurt to lose you in the workplace, but if that's really what you wanted, no one deserved it more than you, but we didn't deserve the way you treated us when you did."

"The way I treated you? I told McGee he was a good agent. I let tony know that I trusted him to take over. I didn't...

"Yeah, I was there. I remember every word you uttered and every word you didn't! I remember how you kissed me on the cheek and left without saying a single word to me!" Abby yelled while trying an failing to keep the emotion from her voice.

"You knew how I felt about you," Gibbs argued.

"I thought I did, but I must have been wrong. I thought you considered all of us your family, but you don't treat your family the way you treated us. You don't know what it was like, Gibbs. You broke us! Tony did too, but you delivered the first blow. Do you know how painful it was? I would wait by the phone hoping you'd call just once. You never did. It took months for that to stop. One day, Tim showed up at my door. He had to basically force the painful truth down my throat. The truth being that you and Tony were gone and you weren't going to call and you weren't going to come back," Abby cried as tears streamed down her cheeks. She'd given up trying to remain stoic. It was a miserable failure.

All of Gibbs' stubbornness went away as he saw the pain in Abby's face. He was sure before that he was right and everyone else was being unreasonable, but after hearing it from Abby, he couldn't hang onto that anymore. Why the hell didn't he call? He could've. It wouldn't have been so difficult to just pick up the phone, maybe help them deal with his absence.

"And you didn't come back, not until this case came about. Your obsession with finishing a case could bring you back, but not us. So do you get it now? Why we don't want you around? We don't wanna go through that again. So just go! Get this case closed and then leave us alone!" Abby cried before storming towards her office.

Gibbs sighed as he stood there alone. He was so sure of himself when he walked in, not understanding how any of this was his fault. He supposed he just didn't want to see it. He didn't want to see the damage he did to these people when he left the way he did. But he had no choice when Abby forced it down his throat. He was at fault here. So rule forty-five needed to be followed. He needed to clean up his mess, only this time he knew he couldn't do it alone. He needed him, and ironically, the only person who could help him was the man who'd cleaned up after him when he left. Tim McGee.


End file.
